Burned Blood
by Dolores Storey
Summary: Little Ruby Red Ruben, searching for answers to his impossible question. It would plague him for ages. Laura made everything she touched look completely different. She was so different. But why? Even when he rebuild the world, the blood that stained her skin glowed crimson and beautiful. She embodied perfection no matter how much she tried to blend in.


**Burning Blood**

Red was everywhere throughout the Victoriano Mansion. From the furniture to the paint, the flooring, to the window panes, down to the smallest of details. Leather that bound ever book was dyed a scarlet shade in the study to match the walls. The only son, Ruben sat in the room of crimson bathed in ivory evening robes. It was deep into the night and the house was deafened by silence. The only sound was the occasional page turning in the boy's hands.

Ruben would often wait for his family to sleep to return to his studies, but tonight was different. His eyes strained at the small words of his textbooks. From the moment he awoke Ruben had nested himself in the shelves of scientific manuals. He had a problem in his mind, and he would not rest until he solved it.

He reached for his teacup that had grew cold through the night. He stopped reading to inspect it. Tiny swirls and roses decorated the porcelain. Red had cloaked everything in this house, all the same awful shade. However, one form of the disgusting color was more clear than anything else.

After stealing it from the dirty clothes, his elder sister's garnet gown sat on his lap, giving a stark contrast to his rebellious style. His family was forced to wear the Victoriano uniform, black and red, but he refused to abide. Laura did as told however, no matter how much she attempted to blend in, it was the last thing she could do.

From the fibers, to the color, to the shape, it matched everything else in the house but when Laura wore it, it was so _different._ But why? He had been studying color schemes for the past fourteen hours and he had yet to find a clue to this struggling question.

"Ruben?" A delicate voice echoed through the room. Dressed in a long crimson nightgown, the tall, lithe girl peaked in the doorway. Laura Victoriano was aging beautifully in her early teenhood. She was barely sixteen and the stunning ruby gem of the family. There would never be enough words to describe how much she amazed him.

"Why are you still awake? It's terribly late." Laura smiled through her sigh as she walked over to her younger brother. She knelt down and gently caressed his cheek. "You look so tired, your eyes are darker than ever." His sister cared for him even more than their own parents. She was gentle, kind… beautiful. Ruben couldn't wrap his head around her. She was so complex. Usually he could figure out every detail about a human, but Laura? She was an enigma. Her perfect red lips, her soft, dark hair, her shapely figure. A woman's body and mind would often make him scratch his head, but she left him mute with questions and confusion. What made her so incredible?

Ruben shook his head, trying to read her mind through her stunning grey eyes. "What makes you tick, dear sister?" Laura chuckled and patted his shoulder. Her touch brought chills against his pale skin. If he was any less intelligent he'd call it witchcraft. How dare she make his heart flutter?

Her smile made his skin grow cold. "Ruby Red Ruben," Laura shifted down to sit beside of him before laying her head on his lap, "I love how you analyze everything. You question the world around you and every person in it. You're genius." She gently poked the tip of his nose. "You silly boy. What has up all night thinking?"

Laura was smart in her own way. Sure, she couldn't really understand her brother's complex textbooks word by word, but she could pick apart a work of literature with ease. She studied poetry and classic stories alongside Ruben after breakfast every morning.

Ruben knew she could understand his current problem. "Well you see." He picked the dress up from the floor. "Your dress? It matches everything in the house, but when you wear it? It's…" a sigh as he watched her bright grey eyes twinkle, "It's so _different_. It's stunning. How is that possible? I've studied colors and shades and it doesn't make any sense."

Little Ruby Red Ruben, searching for answers to his impossible question. It would plague him for ages. Laura made everything she touched look completely different. _She_ was so different. Even when flames swallowed her into oblivion they shimmered when they charred her flesh. She looked beautiful even when her body turned to ash. Even when he rebuild the world, the blood that stained her skin glowed crimson and beautiful.


End file.
